


Apprentice of Death

by LazarusLiszet



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Abuse, Bottom Severus Snape, Death is a woman, Fix-It of Sorts, Good Severus Snape, Good Slytherins, Hurt Severus Snape, ITS NOT OKAY, M/M, Major AU, Marauders' Era, Maybe - Freeform, Mpreg, Severus Snape Whump, Severus Snape has deaths powers, Severus Snape is a spy from the beginning, Severus gets really powerful, Xenophilius is really smart, Young Severus Snape, abused Severus Snape, im sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2017-10-01
Packaged: 2019-01-07 09:48:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12230427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LazarusLiszet/pseuds/LazarusLiszet
Summary: Death was in the search for an apprentice after being cheated by Tom Riddle, and she finds her perfect pupil in a near-dead double agent who had lost more than they had loved. Giving mortals a second chance was not normal for death, but she doesn't mind it as she marks him with her sigil and sends him back to before hatred and sorrow had settled so firmly into his way of life. She didn't expect him to change so much.





	1. Prologue

Most people feel that death is malevolent, cold, and unfeeling. For some though, it is understood as a necessity. Death long ago changed her appearance from that of a long limbed skeletal man into a slight bodied woman. Her cloak was still intimidating, but now rather than being faceless she sports calm black eyes and lips which speak gently of how she will make everything good for them. This was a much kinder appearance, so that the mortals death claimed would not struggle as much. Death has wanted to take someone under her wing for a very long time. For a moment, she had believed that one of the brothers of the deathly hallows would be worthy of this. The cloak, though, kept her from finding her new apprentice.

It was after generations of watching the people who gained control of the hallows ripping each other apart that she finally saw someone who could fill the position. Unfortunately, he was moments away from dying already. She watches as the snake, possessed by the boy who she had once considered as a candidate himself, sink its fangs into Severus Snape’s neck. It bites his shoulder, and then his neck again. It clamps on his lower right leg on the way out of the room. She watches Tom Riddle exit the room, feeling something almost like anger. He had forsaken her the most out of any wizard. Seven of those wretched, miserable soul shard that she would have to carry.

The boy who lived, as the mortals call him, creeps into the room. He is followed by two equally young heroes. Severus can see glimpses of her, now. The woman whom she’d taken this form from was named Marceline. It was the name she commonly used for those she took to recruiting. The two are having a moment of reconciliation after hating each other for so long. But that isn’t quite true. Severus had never hated Harry Potter. He’d hated that Harry Potter had not been Harry Evans. Or Harry Snape. Or just about any last name that was not _Potter_.  Marceline tilts her head as she watches them. It should be noted that Severus was not dead as they left, though his body had started shutting down from blood loss and the venom coursing through his veins. She frowns. There was little time left. In order to save this child who had been witness to each of the hallows and never succumbed to their powers, she would need to bestow some of her life force into his.

This would give her no time to make sure he would not abuse his powers. Marceline stands there for a moment, shifting her nonexistent weight against the wood flooring she couldn't feel before she made up her mind. Striding forward with determination, she had decided to hell with it. This was her chance. Who knows when the next one will make itself apparent? Severus seems … calm… His black eyes open slowly, to mere slits. The cloaked figure before him had a chalky pale face and black rings surrounding her eyes. Her lips are the color of soot.  Death frowns.

She had known from the first time she’d set her hands on this pale, sickly child --and his soul was just as sickly as his body-- that he would be one of the souls that she regretted touching. As a child, Severus had nearly came to her several times, either because of his father or, when he was younger, because his illness had nearly claimed him. Unfortunately, cruelty had touched his father's heart and as such she had been sure he would die young. There are two reasons why she was kneeling down and cupped his face in her hand, wiping away tears and blood alike instead of simply whisking his soul away to the place of his rest. One is that he had simply evaded her so many times. There were many days where she came to him and just as she held her fist up to knock on his door he would spontaneously keep fighting. The other is that he had encountered every one of her deathly hallows and never once attempted to take one for himself.

“Do you know who I am?” Her voice is a deep tenor that resonates in Severus’ chest. He opens his mouth to answer but no words come out. The question in his head is asking her why she has yet to take him from the living world. “I am keeping you alive by giving you portions of my magic, Severus.” The way she coos his name unsettles him. “I am death, and I am in need of your help.” She lets her hand glide down from where it had been at his cheek to the viscous wound on his neck. Suddenly, he can make more than pained gurgles.

“W-Why do you need m-my help?” The poison still runs free, and she frowns.

“I have been cheated by dark magic for many years. For millennia I have searched for a worthy apprentice. One who can enlighten the world as to deaths ways and eradicate the means of cheating it. I have found you, now. I must work quickly. Do you accept to help me in my quest?” She asks.

“Will I live?” He chokes out.

“You will do more than live. You will be younger, and shape-shifting. You will have some of my powers. You will be able to save the man who fell into the veil. Going back in time is an option, with powers such as mine. You can walk between the worlds and live eternally.” This speech sounds very sketchy. But he is dying and desperate.

“Yes. Yes--Please…”

“Very well, Severus. Sleep well. When you awake, all will be well again.”


	2. The Hogwarts Express

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Severus awoke, it was to dim light filtering through his long window in spinners end. Rolling over and curling up, he almost went back to sleep, disoriented and fuzzy-headed, only to see his reflection in the mirror. That of a thirteen year old boy with a prominent white streak in his inky black hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the wonderful reviews! This is the most I've had on one chapter, and in such a short time!
> 
> I would like to say that I didn't grow up in the seventies, so I have no clue what to make him wear. I went for a simple riptide slouch because crochet hats were in as far as I've heard, and I love them. Severus is going to be a bit ooc, and he will also be that effeminate emo-hipster-punk mix that wears beanies and listens to ACDC and paints his nails black on his own time because it's edgy. Just a fair warning. And he paints his nails because it covers up some of the potion staining that's already setting in ^-^

When Severus awoke, it was to dim light filtering through his long window in spinners end. Rolling over and curling up, he almost went back to sleep, disoriented and fuzzy-headed, only to see his reflection in the mirror. That of a thirteen year old boy with a prominent white streak in his inky black hair. He blinks slowly and after a pause he realizes just what has happened. What he was, and how he had just died. Staggering out of bed, Severus stared at his smaller self, with his slight frame and big eyes. His gaze flickers to the clock on the wall, which reads six o'clock. Having an epiphany about going back to bed, because he does _not_ want to stay as the greasy haired slime ball everyone remembers him as -and he cannot remember everything, but most vividly he recalls how everyone had hated him- he pulls on his dressing gown over his pajamas and stumbles out into the hall. Remembering the dust covered hair products he'd found in Spinners End upon moving in -and dating back to when Ms. Terry had stopped for tea every day, he decides to give it a shot. He's greeted by his mothers kind, tired face. "Severus, sweetheart, what are you doing out of bed?" She asks.

"I just- I was wondering if you could... This is silly-- Never mind." He turns to go back to bed, but his mother clutches his shoulder.

"What happened to your hair, dear?" Her face is worried and he purses his lips. Should he tell her? She's his _mum._ He doesn't know if he can keep it a secret. Her face turns sad, as if she realizes he isn't going to tell her. And then with a long sigh Severus lets the truth spill out. "Oh, Sev..." She murmurs, kneeling down and embracing her son. "Let's get your hair washed--The nice lady three blocks over gave us some of the quality stuff to sample from her salon a while ago. It should get you through, and then I'll pick something up and send it by floo, alright?"

"You don't have to spend--"

"I know you won't let me buy something expensive, but something cheaper will still keep your hair pretty and thick like it should be." She promises. "No more bars of soap. All right?"

"Y-You believe me? That I was actually--"

"Severus, dear, I can't remember you ever lying to me before." She tells him as she sorts through the cupboard. He frowns, because it's true. With Tobias in the house, he and his Mum needed to stick together. Lying would have been dangerous.

"What will father say, about you buying me things?" He asks meekly.

"Nothing, because he won't know. I got paid for watching the kids across the road yesterday. He doesn't know about the money." She soothes him, her dark chocolate eyes soft. "Now take these things and hop in the shower before Tobias wakes, dearie."

"Thank you, Mother." He says hushedly, wary of the man sleeping in the room below them. When he gets into the loo he runs the water until it turns from a coppery bronze to clear and steps into the stall. Frowning, he squints his black eyes and reprimands himself for not reading the instructions on the bottles before hand. _Let sit for five minutes before rinsing out. If air drying, toss head forward and scrunch hair for bouncy, naturally induced volume and gentle waves._ They both say the same thing, except the shampoo says 'step one' and the conditioner 'step two'. On the counter is a leave-in product that his mother had handed him as well, along with the shower gel sitting on the shelf by his shoulder. Ms. Terry is a kind woman, and she'd cut his hair this last summer and snuck this stuff to his mum, apparently. Tobias had wanted it saved. His shower only takes eight minutes, and when he steps out with a black towel around his waist his muggle clothes are sitting on the counter. A thin grey turtle neck jumper, a pair of dark well-fitting jeans, and the black riptide slouch beanie Lily had given him for his birthday. There was a matching scarf, but it was still a bit warm for it. He comes out of the bathroom with mix-matched green and black socks silencing his already quiet steps and smiles wearily at his mother, who is absolutely beaming.

"You look stellar, Severus." She murmurs, tilting his chin up. He'd had yet to see his reflection, as the only mirror in the house, which had been in the bathroom, had been shattered last week. He took her word for it, though.

"You think father will be upset?"

"Not anymore than usual. Come here now dear, I've got some eggs and toast ready."

"You didn't have to, Mother." He says.

"It's not every day you hear about how your son is apparently destined to be the most powerful wizard in Europe! And a potions master, at that." She sounds excited, though her voice is low. Severus isn't surprised to see that his drunken father isn't in his room as he'd at first assumed, but drunkenly splayed on the living room couch.

"I'm sorry about that. Maybe... Maybe it was just a dream." He murmurs. But then again, he'd never felt so much pain in his life, and weren't dreams supposed to be painless? Not to mention the vividness was horrific.

"Don't talk like that, sweet pea. And you do know where your shoes are, yes?"

"Yes, mother." He says exasperatedly. She smirks at him, pouring some tea for the both of them as he dishes out their food. His father had just sat down at their dining table when the door bell rings. He'd already discussed with his parents about how he'd be getting to the station. Eileen would send him off if the Evans had room in their car. The last two years his parents had been able to drive him, but now their car had broken down and his mother forbade him taking public transport.

"Go get it, boy." Tobias grumbles, nursing a coffee in between his huge hands.

"Yes, father." He says in a hushed tone, hurrying to the door. He is in complete shock for a moment at seeing Lily there. He can't seem to control it, one minute he'll be his thirteen year old self, the next he'll be the thirty eight year old man he died as... It was terrifying, to be honest.

"Sev! You look..." Severus waits for an insult, about looking too girly --and it _is_ a bit much, but it was better than the greasiness-- but it never comes. Instead, she looks him up and down and then says, "You look absolutely _stunning_! I can't wait for Potter and his gang to see you now, Sev! They won't ever make fun of you again--"

"Lils, please... It's not like I'm terribly attractive to begin with, this is only a little bit of product..." He says, but he's flushed scarlet because Lily really thinks he looks good? Will they _really_ stop making fun of him?

"Come now, Severus." She says, softly. Her sparkling green eyes meet his black ones and she slaps him on the arm. "You're just brilliant all on your own. Now then, do you have your trunk packed?"

"Yes... And Slughorn said I could bring Soot." He admits.

"Really? So she and Oliver can play together? Are you sure your house mates won't bug Soot, though? They're into some pretty dark stuff..." She admits as she follows Severus up the rickety stairs to his room.

"My uncle Leo's diary told me enough hexes and jinxes that they won't dare mess with her. And I know, you don't like me using those... But it's the only way to survive in Slytherin." He remembers, very suddenly, a sharp scalding pain in his left arm and winces. "I'm not joining the dark lord." He whispers to her. "Not anymore, anyways." Lily looks struck. She'd become almost positive that her best friend would join Voldemort's cause. What with him hanging out with Lucius and Mulciber-- It was scary. What was this three sixty all about?

"Sev, I hadn't asked because I thought it might be rude, but why is there a big white streak in your hair?" Lily reaches up and brushes her fingers against it, thoroughly shocked when the strand takes on the same fiery red as her hair.

"I... I'll tell you on the train." He says, softly. Snapping his trunk closed and coaxing his fluffy pitch black fox into her cage, Severus gives her a wane smile. "Would you mind terribly carrying Soot?"

"Not at all!" She says. There seems to be a new spring in her step, knowing that Severus is no longer going down the wrong path. Soot is tiny, so small that Lily can easily pick her up with one hand. Hell animals are very rare. Mrs. Norris is one such creature, and soot was a baby fox who was touches by dark magic, turning pitch black. She had been found near the dark forest one night and apparently Severus and Lucius had saved her.

***

Once they'd found their own compartment on the train - a fairly small one that can house the two of them along with Soot the fox and Oliver the cat, Lily asks him again about his hair. "I've read about marks like that, birth marks that muggles have. But in one of Mary's books it said that that was the mark of death."

"The latter, I'm afraid." He admits softly. "I can't remember much, but things keep coming back... Shaping my decisions."

"What do you mean, you've been marked by death?" She asks, now looking very distressed.

"Well, I just... I had this dream, last night. But it wasn't really a dream. I've never had dreams this vivid before." Recalling what all he'd seen wasn't easy, but he manages. That way Lily will trust that he really isn't with the dark lord anymore.

_  
Kneeling in the dark forest, breath rattling with terror, Severus watches with wide black eyes as Albus Dumbledore approaches him. The mark still burns, his muscles ache from over exposure to cruciatus. "What did you tell him, Severus?"_

_"Everything, I told him everything." He's trembling. "Please, hide them. Hide them all."_

_"What will you do for me in return, Severus?"_

_"Anything!"_

_~_

_His heart lurches in his chest as he spots Harry James Potter at the table. Loathing and love war in equal measures, and he tries to bottle the love up and hide it, because the Dark Lord will return, and he cannot be seen as weak._

_~_

_"He has her eyes, Severus."_

_~_

_"Mudblood!" He kicks himself over and over for the rest of his life. One word and his whole world crumbles. The Dark lord asks him where his loyalties lie. He doesn't wait for an answer. Cruciatus curse feels like your bones are grinding and your insides are ripping to shreds--it's terrible._

_~_

_He remembers Nagini's bite, the venom eating at his muscles, blurring his vision. His blood pools on the floor. "Severus. Will you help me in my quest?" A lovely young woman with a garishly pale face and black lips and eyes. "You know who I am. I have been holding your hands since you were an infant, Severus."_

"That couldn't have been an ordinary dream, Sev." She whispers, looking pale and slightly ill.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said..." He mumbles, feeling embarrassed and guilty for burdening Lily with this.

"It's fine, it's fine. Oh Severus, I'm so sorry!" And then she throws her arms around him and they simply cling to each other for a moment.

"Please, never think that you're inferior to me. We're equals, Sev. You're like my brother!"

"You know... I thought I... I thought I loved you romantically, for a while." He whispers, ashamed. She smiles wryly at him.

"We both know what you like, Severus."

"Yeah, _now_ we do." They both laugh then, and that only escalates when the train jostles just a bit and Sirius Black falls right on his face, right outside of their compartment.

"Good one, Berk!" Lily exclaims.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm terrible at tags, so if someone could list some that I've missed, or help me with them in general I would be forever grateful!


End file.
